


An Unanticipated Side Effect of Dosing Oneself with Wraith Enzyme to Deliver an Important Message

by bironic



Series: Sestinas by bironic [5]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Episode Related, Episode: s02e11 The Hive, Gen, Poetry, Sestina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-09-17
Updated: 2007-09-17
Packaged: 2017-10-03 12:43:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bironic/pseuds/bironic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>It was very strange. The whole time I was under the influence of the enzyme, it felt like I was, ah, I was perfectly lucid--eloquent, even. That it was </i>you<i> who wasn't making any sense or listening to reason.</i></p><p>- McKay, "The Hive"</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Unanticipated Side Effect of Dosing Oneself with Wraith Enzyme to Deliver an Important Message

**Author's Note:**

> A sestina about McKay during "The Hive." Many thanks to daasgrrl, elynittria and synn for concrit.

Three goons down (_pow! whamm! crunch!_) and a bottle of enzyme  
coursing through his bloodstream and the DHD fixed and at last Rodney  
has made it back to Atlantis so he can explain the very important  
situation, the, the whatsit, the crisis, that's got Sheppard  
and Teyla and Ronon stuck on the Wraith hive ship  
with crazy-man Ford where they have to be rescued before they die

and _oh my God they're going to die_ but they can't die, they _won't_ die  
because they're all still hopped up on the enzyme  
and it's not like there'd be a short supply of it on a hive ship  
what with all the Wraith and all and oh look here's Elizabeth so Rodney  
opens his mouth to tell her about Ronon and Teyla and Sheppard  
and Ford and the dart and the unbelievably bad plan because it's important,

it's so, so important, huh, that's a strange word, im-por-tant,  
and what was he saying again? Oh right, right, they're all going to die  
if they haven't died already, between Ford being crazy and Sheppard  
being heroic and Ronon and Teyla probably going through enzyme  
withdrawal by now which is exactly what's going to happen to Rodney  
very soon so he really really has to tell Elizabeth about the hive ship

before he collapses because three quarters of his team being on a hive ship  
having the life sucked out of them is a very bad thing, ergo it's important  
they get them out, so why is everyone just standing around? Hello? Is Rodney  
speaking Ancient here? Why is Elizabeth staring at him when his team's about to _die_,  
dammit? He knows everyone around him is some shade of stupid but the enzyme  
must make it worse somehow because they _don't understand_ that Sheppard

and Teyla and Ronon are in _mortal danger_ and for once Sheppard's  
charm isn't going to save them because charm doesn't work on a hive ship  
full of Wraith with their, their _webs_ and their ridiculous teeth and their enzyme,  
mm, enzyme, is it hot in here? It feels hot in here. Wait, there's something important  
he has to tell Elizabeth, even though his heart's beating so fast he thinks he might die  
of a heart attack before he convinces these people to get moving, and then Rodney

finds himself being led away from the gate while Elizabeth says _Rodney,_  
_Rodney, slow down_\--no no no no no they're going the wrong way, Sheppard  
and the others are through the gate _that_ way where they're going to die  
of unnatural old age in a dark and dusty cell in a forgotten corner of a hive ship  
because their expedition leader couldn't comprehend how important  
it was to--to--oh, hello, woozy, ooh, look at the pretty colours. _Enzyme_

_crash_, Rodney thinks, and drops helpless to the floor while on the hive ship  
Teyla, Sheppard and Ronon could be counting on him to do this single stupid important  
thing. Haunted by the image of his friends' faces as they die, he succumbs to the enzyme.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Hold](https://archiveofourown.org/works/42848) by [imperfectcircle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imperfectcircle/pseuds/imperfectcircle)
  * [An Unanticipated Side Effect of Dosing Oneself with Wraith Enzyme to Deliver an Important Message (podfic)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1057784) by [susan_voight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/susan_voight/pseuds/susan_voight)




End file.
